Renal & Urology News Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy is performed 5 times more than open radical prostatectomy and accounts for 85 percent of all RPs performed by urologists in 2013, a new study finds. To determine practice patterns, Daniel T. Oberlin, M.D., and colleagues from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago examined 6-month case logsREAD MORE

The Atlantic The rise of immunotherapy has been one of the most startling and promising developments in cancer research for some time. After decades of false starts and dead ends, scientists have finally found effective ways of marshaling the immune system to destroy cancers.READ MORE

Health Leaders Anthem CEO Joe Swedish announced to the Nashville Healthcare Council that total cost of care contracting is one of three critical concepts the giant insurer is trying to promote in 2015 and beyond. The others are related — provider collaboration and consumer focus — but all three goals tie into the concept of risk-based reimbursement.READ MORE

Pro PublicaThe U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to nascent efforts to track the quality and cost of health care, ruling that a 1974 law precludes states from requiring that every healthcare claim involving their residents be submitted to a massive database.READ MORE

Health LeadersThe extremes of the healthcare partnership continuum are well-known and well-traveled: Narrowly focused clinical affiliations such as service contracts between hospitals and laboratories at one extreme, with mergers and acquisitions at the opposite extreme. READ MORE

The Medical NewsA study of obesity and related metabolic changes on bladder cancer incidence and deaths, and a plan to use stem cells to grow novel urinary tubes are among 10 research projects awarded funding by the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute.READ MORE

Health Leaders Vikas Saini, M.D., has worn a lot of hats: philosopher, entrepreneur, cardiologist, and Harvard Medical School lecturer. Today he's president of the Lown Institute, a Boston-based non-profit that seeks to "catalyze a grassroots movement for transforming healthcare systems and improving the health of communities." READ MORE

Fred Hutch Metastatic prostate cancer presents an appealing target for precision oncology, according to new work from scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington. In a study published recently in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers showed that though metastases from different patients varied widely in their genetic characteristics, metastases within a single patient were remarkably similar.READ MORE

Healthcare IT NewsThe Department of Health and Human Services is building a Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force, as required by Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015.
"From the beginning of the Administration, the President has made it clear that cybersecurity is one of the most important challenges we face as a nation," HHS officials said in a statement. "READ MORE

California Healthline California’s healthcare industry is a data-security laggard, failing to sufficiently protect sensitive information stored on lost or stolen laptops, smartphones and flash drives, according to state Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Meantime, healthcare faces mounting hacker attacks that put millions of Californians’ personal records at risk, including medical information, as detailed in a report from Harris’ office.READ MORE

Modern HealthcareTwo of California's largest insurers are trying to build one of the country's most comprehensive health information exchanges, but they're facing reluctance from providers who are hesitant to share their data.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California — the second - and third-largest insurers in the state, respectively, after Kaiser Permanente — teamed up in 2014 to establish Cal Index. Their goal is to create a complete, longitudinal health record for every California resident. READ MORE